Viridorari is an environmentally focused blog. The mission of Viridorari is to help you incorporate healthier, "greener" habits into your life, to benefit you, the people around you, and the environment.

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Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Ecofriendly Economics & Harsh Facts: Deforestation

Snow Leopards

Today is the last day of April, and unfortunately, the last day that these beautiful mountain cats will be featured on Viridorari. Next Monday I will announce the new Animal of the Month for May. I hope you learned a lot about snow leopards from Viridorari posts, and that you have been inspired to take action for endangered animals. Biodiversity is important to all ecosystems, and when animals in those ecosystems go extinct it can cause major ramifications for species that outlive them.

Throughout the month, Viridorari discussed three organizations that support snow leopard conservation, and there are many more besides those three. They are the Snow Leopard Conservancy, Panthera, and the Snow Leopard Trust. I urge you to consider these three organizations and choose one that you would be willing to donate too. All three have many different ways that you can donate.

Final snow leopard fact: Like human fingerprints and tiger stripes, each snow leopard has a unique rosette pattern that sets them apart. When using camera traps, organizations like SLC, Panthera, and SLT use the unique pelt designs to identify each leopard that is photographed. In this way, scientists can develop an accurate count of how many cats are living in the area.

The biodiversity of the Amazon is being threatened more than ever: it is estimated that by 2030 the region would be a mere 10% of what it is today.Every year more than 8.5 million hectares of tropical rainforests are razed, and more than 12 million hectares of forest land is lost to urbanization or allied activities.In Nigeria, 81% of original forest cover is now gone permanently. The tropical rainforests of Brazil have been reduced by 90-95%. Harvesting of forest cover has left Afghanistan with a little over 25% forests throughout the country.Deforestation in the United States has destroyed 90% of original virgin forests since 1600. At the current rate of deforestation in the United States, only 1/4 of the forests standing today will still be standing in 70 years.

You're supposed to get vocal this week... tell your representatives that you're opposed to continued and increased deforestation in your country, state, or province!

I said in Saturday's post I would provide ways for you to take action for the environment. Unfortunately I couldn't post yesterday and tonight's post is really late, and for that I offer my deepest apologies. However, albeit a little late (a lot late), I do have an opportunity for you to get vocal in the name of the Earth tonight!

While we do purchase a few other brands, we mostly drink Celestial Seasonings tea at my house. In particular, I like Celestial Seasonings because of the steps they took to redesign their teabags in order to reduce waste. The company developed a unique "pillow-style" tea bag, completely eliminating the strings, tags, staples, and individual wrappers. Celestial Seasonings claims that this innovative design prevents 3.5 million pounds of waste from entering landfills every year.

Celestial Seasonings tea is delicious, and as a long time customer, I can say I've never had a problem with this new teabag design. Using the pillow-style bag is in no way an inconvenience. So, I hope you'll consider switching to this brand.

Now, I emailed the company and asked if they had exclusive rights to the design, and the answer: they don't. This is where I want you to get vocal. I want you to call, email, or write letters to the tea companies you currently buy from and tell them about Celestial Seasonings' innovative design and how it reduces waste. Encourage the company to consider developing a similar design that will help them reduce their waste. I am not alone in my belief that business owners have an ethical responsibility with their money and product. Remind your tea companies of their responsibility when you contact them.

I'll help you get started by providing the contact information of the following popular companies: Tazo, Upton, and Bigelow Tea. If the company you want to contact is not in that list, I'm sure a quick google search on your part will remedy that.

Tazo: Customer Service hours are Monday-Friday from 6am to 3pm PT. Call toll free at 1-866-408-5921. Email them at tazocustomerservice@tazo.com. Visit their website here.

Bigelow Tea: Fill out an email form here. Visit their website here. Call from 9am to 5pm Monday through Friday Eastern Time. Mail your letters to

R.C. Bigelow Inc.
201 Black Rock Turnpike
Fairfield, CT 06825

I will be developing a business letter to send to these companies. If you aren't confidant about your writing skills, please contact me at viridorari@yahoo.com and I will send you a copy that you can put into an email or print out for snail mail. If you have questions or you want to share your experience, comments below or shoot me an email!

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About Me

I am a freshman in college working on a journalism major and creative writing and international politics minors. I am an environmental activist, and I am going to be marching in the Great March for Climate Action. I write an environmental blog called Viridorari, and you can find my creative writing on The Quill.